> 3 minute read

Explore Touchscreen Focusing

Focusing on a subject can be as easy as tapping your camera’s touchscreen. Let’s look at a few ways that this technology can work.

A single tap of your FUJIFILM X Series camera’s touchscreen is all it takes to set the position of the active focusing point/area, focus the camera, and even make a photo – depending on how your camera is set up. Touchscreen focusing is useful when you’re making candid photos on the street or trying to frame from unusual angles – down low or up high. It’s also good for portraits when you want to be really specific about where you are focusing.

If you have a model with touchscreen functionality, you should first check that it is switched on – it should be by default. You can do this in one of two places, depending on which X Series camera you have. Start by pressing the MENU OK button and then choose:

SET UP > TOUCH SCREEN SETTING > ON

Or

SET UP > BUTTON/DIAL SETTING > TOUCH SCREEN SETTING > TOUCH SCREEN SETTING > ON

Return to shooting mode by half-pressing the shutter release button. You’ll notice a small touchscreen icon in the corner of the camera’s touchscreen, which is the current touchscreen mode.

This can be in one of following settings, although not all models have all four settings on offer:

SHOT: Tap and the camera will focus on the part of the scene you’ve touched, then make a photograph using the current settings and exposure mode.
AF: Tap and the camera will focus on the part of the scene you’ve touched and lock focus there. Next, you can make the picture normally with the shutter release button.
AREA: Tap and the camera will move the currently active focus point or area to this position. Focus by half-pressing the shutter release; fully press the shutter release to make the picture.
OFF: Disables touchscreen AF functions while you’re photographing to prevent accidental touches.

Touch Focusing and Face Detection

If your X Series camera supports multiple face detection, you can switch between the recognised faces by tapping them. A white box will appear around all of the faces in the picture except the one that’s being focused on, which is surrounded by a green box. Tap any white-boxed face to make it the active subject.

Your Next Steps

• CHALLENGE Try using touch focusing instead of conventional half-press autofocusing the next time you make images. Does it help you to be more spontaneous? Post your experiences to social media with the hashtag #learnwithfujifilm. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.